


New Timeline, Old Regrets

by snowyrunes



Category: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Genre: Gen, Ghost Swap, Ghost-Swap 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 14:09:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13342869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowyrunes/pseuds/snowyrunes
Summary: Kamila is behaving strangely, and Sissel talks to three friends to try and figure out why.Written for kamil-a for fyeahghosttrick's Ghost Swap exchange. Prompts used:- New timeline Kamila suddenly becomes very nervous about her rube goldberg hobby, but gaining her confidence back!- Emma and Alma chatting while their kids play together, "oh alma you must tell my how your cat doesn't shed, my amelie wants a kitten so bad, but the hair!"- The first time Yomiel hurt someone with ghost tricks. On purpose? By accident? Who was it? How'd he feel about it? Go wild.





	New Timeline, Old Regrets

“You wanted to talk to me, Sissel?”

The cat nodded, flicking his tail. Well, not his real tail. His ghost tail. This conversation was taking place in the World of the Dead, after all. It was rare for him and Missile to be physically in the same room together. On most occasions, Sissel just traveled through the phone lines to Lynne’s apartment, like he had today.

“It’s about Kamila.”

“Miss Kamila? What about her?”

Sissel paused. ( _How do I put this?_ ) “Well, it’s nothing big, but lately Kamila’s seemed… off, for some reason.”

“Off? Off of what? She’s not about to fall, is she?!” Missile barked.

“Whoa, down boy,” Sissel said reassuringly. “What I mean is, she hasn’t been her usual self.”

“Oh no, is she sad?”

“I’m not sure. All I know is, she’s kind of lost her pep. Normally she’s so energetic, but…” Sissel sighed. “What’s even stranger- Alma’s birthday is coming up. Kamila was all excited to set up some sort of surprise for her. She would scurry up to her bedroom after school, ready to work on whatever she had planned. Towards the end of last week, she suddenly stopped doing that. Now she just watches TV until dinner.”

“TV?”

“The black box you always bark at.”

“Oh! Right! I knew that!”

“Did you really?” Sissel asked skeptically. “You know what, never mind that for now. The point is, I came here to ask if you have any idea what might be causing her to act that way.”

“Hmm… I’m really sorry, but I don’t know!” the dog replied. “I’ve never really met Miss Kamila in person. But I think if I did, I would love her oh so very much!”

“But you _have_ met her. Before I went back in time, remember?”

“Yes, but those memories are so fuzzy!” Missile said. “I’m sorry, I know you’re always asking me to try and remember. And I can remember a few things, if I try really, really hard! But it’s incredibly difficult.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I can’t blame you. I know how hard it can be to try and get your memories back.”

“Mister Detective Jowd remembers though, doesn’t he?” Missile asked.

“Yeah, and so does Yomiel. But then again, neither of them had to wait eight years to pop back into existence. I guess being born again does some funny things to your memory.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose that’s true.”

“In any case, it looks like you can’t help me.”

“I’m afraid not!”

“Well, that’s fine. I’m sure I can figure it out.” If the ghost was taking on a human form, he would have grinned. “When I’m around, the walls have ears. I’m sure I’ll be able to find out what’s been bothering her, if I just stick close.”

“That’s a great idea,” Missile said. “And if she still seems upset, try petting her. I know that when Miss Lynne pets me, I feel loads better!”

“Well, all right, I’ll keep that in mind,” Sissel said. “I don’t think humans care much for being petted, though.”

“Hmph! How ridiculous! Pets are the best!”

“They’re alright I guess. I think I remember liking them from time to time.” ( _Of course, that was back when I could still feel things._ ) “In any case, I’ve got to get going. Alma’s going to be back home soon, and I think I left my body curled up on the couch. If she tries to move it, it could cause problems.”

“You’ll stop by again soon, right?”

“Of course,” Sissle promised. “If you want, I’ll ask Jowd to invite you over with Lynn some time. Maybe it would cheer up Kamila, too.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Missile yipped.

“Yeah well, I hope so.”

* * *

“And he really doesn’t shed at all?”

“No, never,” Alma replied, scratching behind Sissel’s ears as he sat on her lap. “And he’s never had any health problems, either.”

“My, my,” Emma replied, “What a marvelous little cat. Do you know the breed? I would simply love to get one for my beloved Amelie. She is always asking for a pet, but I don’t want some little beast shedding all over the house.”

“I’ve asked Jowd to look into it, but breed probably has nothing to do with his traits. After we noticed that our little kitten wasn’t growing even the slightest bit, we went to the vet. According to him, it’s some sort of genetic mutation.”

( _Ah, the vet visit..._ )Sissel reminisced. That had been an interesting affair to stage. Thankfully, Mr. Pidgeon (the cat never had bothered to properly learn his name) seemed to be more than willing to play the part, in exchange for Sissel’s participation in an experiment or two. Supposedly, Jowd felt a bit bad for tricking his wife. However, the alternative was asking his wife to accept that there was an undead kitten in the house, and that somehow seemed worse.

“Ah, I see,” Emma sighed. “What a shame, that. Still, I would say it makes Sissel here all the cuter.” The madam clinked her wineglass against the back of the bench. “To the capricious nature of this little kitty’s genes!” As she took her toast, the air was suddenly filled with young, angry shouting. “...My, is that the girls? What on earth could be the matter?”

Sure enough, Amelie and Kamila came over. Amelie wore a sullen look on her face. Kamila, however, seemed downtrodden.

“Mama,” Amelie said. “Kamila isn’t playing fair!”

Kamila shuffled her feet. “...I didn’t do anything,” she said, staring at the ground.

“Uh-huh! You did too,” Amelie said. “You promised you’d build one of your cool gizmo-whatzits with me the next time we got together! But now you don’t want to!”

“I just changed my mind, that’s all...”

“But you said!”

“Now, now, girls,” Alma interjected, trying to break up the fight. “Kamila, did you promise Amelie that you would show her one of your Rube Goldberg machines?” she asked. Kamila didn’t answer. Instead, she continued staring at the ground.

“...It seems little Kamila just isn’t feeling up to it today,” Emma said. “Here’s to the capricious nature of this little girl!” Once again, she clinked her wineglass against the back of the bench.

“Mama-”

“Now Amelie,” the madam said, “If your friend doesn’t want to show you today, you’ll just have to wait until next time.”

“But-”

“No buts. We can’t always get what we want right when we want it, my angel. Sometimes, we must have a little patience.”

“Kamila will show you some other time,” Alma added encouragingly. “Isn’t that right, honey?”

“...” Instead of responding favorably, Kamila remained silent. At the unusual behavior, Sissel couldn’t help but perk his head up.

( _…Kamila…?_ )

He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Alma sat up a bit straighter, and leaned towards her daughter. “...Honey? What’s the matter?” she asked.

“...I want to go home.”

The two mothers looked at each other, concern plain in both of their features. This behavior was so unlike the Kamila they all knew. Even Amelie seemed to be picking up on the fact that something was off- although she didn’t seem nearly as concerned as the parents.

( _Something’s wrong,_ ) the cat thought to himself. ( _She’s avoiding all the things she normally loves. Or, wait… Actually, if I think about it..._ )

Although Kamila had seemed a bit off lately, she still went through with many of the activities she normally enjoyed. She liked watching TV, listening to music, and reading, and she continued to do all of that, even as her mood worsened. Even today, she seemed excited at the prospect of visiting Amelie. They had been playing together fine, until the argument just now.

( _Today, Kamila got really upset at the idea of building one of her machines. She’s also been avoiding getting any work done on the surprise she was working on for her mother. If my suspicions are right… I wonder if she was building some sort of mechanism to surprise her mother with. It sounds like something she would do… In fact, she did do it, in a past timeline. But why the sudden hesitation?_ )

What was the reason for Kamila’s sudden change of heart? True, one of Kamila’s mechanisms had lead to a lot of trouble in the past, but nothing that carried over to this timeline. And yet...

( _...It should be impossible for Kamila to have any memories of that timeline. She doesn’t have a core of the dead anymore. Still, given her sudden change in behavior, I can’t help but wonder if it really is impossible…_ )

For most of the night, Sissel mulled over the problem from the top of a cabinet shelf. There weren’t many people he could go to for advice. Sometimes, he wished Ray were still around. As enigmatic as the desk lamp could be at times, at least he was knowledgeable about how the Power of the Dead worked. Granted, half of the things he told Sissel that night were lies, but still. The ghost would have no reason to lie now.

There was only one person who could provide deeper insight into Sissel’s ghostly powers. After debating back and forth, Sissel decided to go see him first thing the next morning.

* * *

“...So it’s like that, huh?”

“Yeah,” Sissel answered. “...So, Yomiel, what do you think? Is it possible some of Kamila’s memories transferred over?”

The man stood still, thinking things over. As a cat, Sissel didn’t have a good sense of fashion. However, he couldn’t help but feel that the blue and white striped uniform the man always wore somehow paled in comparison to the red suit he’d worn as a free man. It made him look frailer, somehow. Less imposing.

“...Honestly, I don’t know,” he admitted, finally. “I never had the power to bring people back from the dead. All I could do was manipulate objects and people. All things considered, you could probably do that too, now.”

“...What?”

Yomiel shrugged. “You can control your own corpse, can’t you? That’s not something you could do in the old timeline.”

“Huh. I guess you’re right.” ( _I never really thought about it before… Weird._ ) “...But even so, I never saw cores on anyone other than you, Jowd, and Missile. Even if I can possess my own body, it looks like regular living things are out of the picture.”

“Is that right? Well, that might not be such a bad thing. A power like that... it can mess with you.” Yomiel sighed, glancing away from Sissel. “...To think that my sins would carry over even into this timeline… It’s unforgivable. Your death was bad enough. That girl… she doesn’t deserve to suffer for my mistakes.”

“To be honest, I don’t mind being dead,” the cat said. “It’s given me an interesting perspective on things. Sometimes, I wonder if this whole experience hasn’t turned me half-human.”

“Well,” Yomiel said, cracking a weak smile, “You did spend an entire night believing that you were one.”

“There’s one big difference between cats and humans though,” Sissel continued. “Humans can’t make it on their own. They’re too connected to each other. The isolation of death doesn’t suit them.” He grinned. “Cats, however, do perfectly fine on their own. Just having a friend or two who they can call on from time to time is enough.”

Yomiel’s expression turned somber. “...You can’t possibly be entirely okay with it.”

“Can’t I?” Sissel joked. When his friend’s expression didn’t change, he became more serious. “...Look, if I’m telling the truth, there’s a few things I miss. But hey, I lived a good ten years before I died. That’s a halfway-decent lifespan for a cat. Maybe it was in another timeline, technically speaking, but I have the memories to show for it.”

“...What are you trying to get at?”

“...Yomiel. Those ten years… they must have been hell for you. But they weren’t for me. I had someone who cared for me, and someone who I could rely on. I didn’t care that he was a ghost. He was my friend, and he took good care of me, when I was alone and suffering. I already told you- that’s more than enough for a cat to live a happy life.”

“Sissel…”

“I lived a full life. I know it doesn’t seem like much to you, but that’s because you’re a human. I don’t have any regrets to take with me to the grave. But you… Yomiel, when you died, you had nothing but regrets. Your life was stolen from you. And since the powers of the dead kept you from passing on, it was impossible for you to let go of those regrets.”

“...None of that excuses what I’ve done. I hurt so many people…” Yomiel shook his head. “You know, that night I killed Alma… That was the first time I’d used my power to kill. I killed an innocent woman… And set it up to look like her daughter was the culprit.”

“You weren’t yourself.”

“I don’t know what my true self is anymore.” The forlorn nature of Yomiel’s voice struck Sissel as he spoke. “That’s why I insisted I serve out ten years. Just because I didn’t commit the same crimes in this timeline doesn’t mean I’m free of responsibility. I deserve to be put away.”

“You deserve time to heal,” Sissle said. “And to think about the kind of life you want to live from now on. Ten years is a lifetime for a cat… But it’s only a fraction of that for a human. You’ll have your whole life ahead of you, when you get out of here. When the time comes for you to be free, I don’t want you thinking like this anymore, okay?”

“...What about Kamila?” Yomiel asked. “Aren’t you angry with me, if only for her sake? By now, she’s probably remembered-”

“That’s only a possibility,” Sissel interjected. “I still don’t have any proof of that. I just came to you because I thought you might know something. Besides, even if she does remember… All we have to do is tell her the truth. That it wasn’t her fault back then, and that it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Are you sure it will be that simple?”

“No. But I’m not entirely sure it will be that difficult, either.” If he were taking on Yomiel’s form, the cat would have shrugged. “Only one way to find out, right?”

“...The warden will be coming back soon,” Yomiel said. “You should get going, before someone in your new family notices how unnaturally still you’ve been for the last hour or two.”

“Yeah, all right.” ( _Looks like our conversation is over. Oh well… That reminds me, there’s one other person I need to talk to. Someone I really should have gone to first, all things considered._ )

“Oh yeah?” Yomiel asked. “And who might that be?”

“Take a guess. It’s not like there’s many people I can talk to.”

“Ah, I see.” The man paused. “...You’re right. You should have gone to him first.”

( _No kidding._ )

* * *

 “Have a moment to chat?”

Jowd let out a chuckle. “When you drag me here to the World of the Dead to chat, do I even have a choice?”

Ignoring the question, Sissel went straight to the point. “Have you noticed anything off about Kamila lately?”

“Hm?” Jowd titled his head. “What do you mean?”

( _Well, here goes nothing…_ ) “Detective Jowd… Did you know that Kamila was working on a surprise gift for Alma’s tomorrow?”

“Hm?”

“It’s a Rube Goldberg machine.” Sissel had managed to find proof of that, scouting around Kamila’s room. “...Or at least, it was supposed to be.”

“...Supposed to be?”

“Kamila hasn’t touched it in over a week now. Not only that, but the other day, she was supposed to make one of those devices with Amelie. She got really upset at the idea of making one, and wanted to come home right away.”

Jowd’s expression was unreadable, which was suspicious. Sissel would have expected the detective to look surprised, or at least concerned about his daughter. Instead, he wore a guarded expression- one that Sissel recognized. He had worn a similar expression, back when Sissel first met him. “...Detective…”

“Hm?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know why Kamila suddenly stopped her favorite hobby, would you?”

“...Let’s say that I did,” Jowd replied. “Are you so certain that it’s a bad thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know, her hobby can be pretty dangerous, at times. You remember what happened, back then…”

“That was not Kamila’s fault,” Sissel said sternly.

“I know. But is it wrong to hope that there won’t ever come a time where it is her fault? Maybe her stopping now is for the best.”

“...You’ve been taking long shifts at the police department for the last few weeks, isn’t that right?” Sissel asked. “In that case, I guess you haven’t been around enough to notice.”

“Noticed what?”

“Detective Jowd. Whatever happened… It’s really affecting your daughter. It’s not just that she’s given up her favorite hobby… She’s miserable!” Guilt flashed behind the detective’s eyes. “...Just tell me. What happened?”

Jowd stared at the cat for a moment, then sighed. “All right, you’ve got me,” he said. “...It was well over a week ago. I heard Kamila tinkering with something in her room, so I decided to check in on her…”

* * *

_“La la la... Hmm… But I wonder, is the string really tight enough? If it doesn’t go far enough, it won’t light the poppers…”_

_“Kamila?”_

_“Eek!” THWACK!_

_“Whoa!”_

_“D-Daddy… you scared me…”_

_“You’re scared? I’m the one who just had something come flying at me! Let’s see, what do we have here… An arrow?”_

_“Y-yes… You see, it’s for Mommy’s birthday. I-”_

_“Kamila, are you planning on firing an arrow in one of your mechanisms?!”_

_“Huh?!”_

_“You have no idea how dangerous that is! Look what you’ve done! You nearly hit me!”_

_“I-”_

_“Do you realize what kind of damage an arrow like that could have done?! You could hurt someone, playing around with things like that!”_

_“...D-Daddy…I- *sniff*... I-I’m sorry…”_

_“I’m taking this with me. I don’t want to see you playing around with things like this anymore, do you understand?”_

_“I-I… I understand… I won’t do it anymore… I’m… I’m sorry…”_

* * *

 “...I really went off on her,” Jowd said. “I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t just that she’d lost control of the arrow… It was seeing that whole contraption being built again. All I could think of was what happened last time. I know it was my fault for startling her this time… and I know it wasn’t her fault back then, either. But still, the image of Alma, lying there dead… It’s a scene I’ll never forget. I can’t handle the idea of it happening again. It’s… too much for me to bear…”

“...But it won’t happen again,” Sissel assured him. “You know that.”

“No, I don’t.”

“But you should. After all, aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked.

“...Forgetting something?”

“You have me now,” Sissel said, “and my Powers of the Dead. Even if Kamila _tried_ to shoot somebody, I wouldn’t let it happen. And hey, even if the worst should happen and I can’t stop it on the first go, death is meaningless as long as I’m around. I’ll rewind time as many times as I need to in order to prevent another tragedy. So don’t worry. Leave the safety of your wife and daughter to me. They’re in good hands. Or, uh, paws, I guess.”

“...Thank you, Sissel.” Jowd gave a heartfelt smile. “You’re right. The tragedy of the past is over. It’s time to let the ghosts of past mistakes rest in peace, once and for all.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

The detective sighed. “Well then, I suppose it’s about time that I had a chat with my daughter. She could probably use some help, getting everything set up for tomorrow.”

“Need any assistance?”

“I think we’ll manage,” Jowd laughed. “But keep an eye on things just in case, won’t you?”

“Always.”

* * *

“Oh my, it’s so dark in here…”

“Why don’t you try the light switch, hon?”

Click.

As the lights turned on, so did the fan, winding up a rope. The top half of a present box was lifted into the air, slowly revealing the dessert underneath. At the same time, a ball fell off the fan, hitting the first in a chain of russian dolls, setting off a domino effect. A sort of windmill-device was set into motion, pulling up a cupid angel with a bow and arrow pulled taught. As the angel was lifted, the tip of the arrow was set on fire by a nearby candle. The angel took aim at its target, and-

CRACK CRACK, POP!

Confetti flew from the poppers, as Kamila ran out from underneath the cupboard. She beamed.

“It worked, Daddy! It worked!”

“It sure did,” Jowd laughed. “Alma, you should have seen the look on your face.”

“Yes, well, it was very startling,” Alma confessed. “Did you make that all by yourself, Kamila?”

“Well, almost,” she said. “I had a little bit of help.”

“Yes, well, sometimes we all need a little bit of help,” Jowd said. Although he was addressing his family, his eyes turned towards the black kitten just now making its way out of the cupboard. “Good job, Kamila. You should be proud.”

Kamila giggled, spinning around. “Happy Birthday, Mommy!”


End file.
